How Their Lives Changed
by SarahMellark15
Summary: When a 6 year old Katniss Everdeen loses her mother in the mine explosion rather than her father, Timothy Everdeen vows to do everything in his power to make sure that he will never have another loved on ripped away from him so brutally again. What if this means getting Haymitch involved... Gale/Katniss.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The explosion

There was an almighty crash. Timothy Everdeen's head span around so fast that you would be surprised that his head didn't fall off. What had once been the entrance to another branch of the mine was now just a pile of dust and rock. He was lucky that he had been standing around the corner rather than right in front of it, otherwise he would have sustained massive injuries or be dead. However, some of his colleagues were not so lucky; one man had lost his arm and where it had been, there was mangled flesh and blood running down his side. He wasn't going to last long.

Screams of pain pulled Timothy out of shock. He knew that if no help reached them soon, there was next to no chance for the injured. Infections would soon spread; his wife had taught him that. Without sparing a second glance at the fading men, he dashed towards the elevator that would take him to the surface. He hoped it hadn't been damaged by the collapse. The elevator bussed to life and it rose upwards slowly towards the day light. People above were staring at him curiously, wondering why he was leaving in the middle of the shift; there were harsh penalties for those who tried to evade working in the mines.

There was a small shack on the surface where the elevator came to a halt. As the mesh doors opened, he stepped out of the shadow of the shack and his face was flooded with sunlight. A normal person would shield their eyes from the sudden increase of light but the mine workers were used to this. Perhaps this is why the men of 12 all had bad eyesight. His eyesight hadn't begun to deteriorate like other had due to the fact that he normally worked close to the surface of the mine. Today however, he had been a bit deeper. The procedure for mine collapses had been well drilled into his mind. The first thing that he needed to do was alert the peacekeepers. Once he had done that, he would get in contact with his family and tell them that he was safe.

Buildings flashed past as he ran towards the peacekeeper's headquarters. He reached the overly conspicuous headquarters building. There was a stark contrast between the blinding white paint in the headquarters and the grey building surrounding it that also has a touch of brown dirt smeared here and there. He knocked on the door and a peacekeeper rushed to answer it.

"A mine worker? You shouldn't be h…"

"There's been a collapse in the mines! You need to help them immediately." Timothy cut across the peacekeeper. As the peacekeeper hurriedly turned around to get help, Timothy saw a flash of red hair. It was Darius. He turned back around to face Timothy.

"Would be able to inform Head peacekeeper Cray? It would do me a massive favour." Darius asked. The head peacekeeper could usually be found in the hob which is on the other side of town. About a 5 minute walk, or in his case a 2 minute run.

"Of course," Timothy said and dashed toward the familiar black building of the hob. Cray was a grey haired man with dark skin due to the amount of time he has spent in the district twelve sun. He, like all the other peacekeepers, wore pristine white clothes. At this current moment, he was drinking Vodka at the alcohol bar and probably quite drunk judging by the growing pile of empty bottles.

"Oi! Head peacekeeper Cray!" Timothy yelled. Cray attempted to spin the chair around, forgetting that those luxurious chairs were only found in districts 1, 2 and the Capital and ended up falling on the ground. Timothy was glad to notice that his old friend and recent victor Haymitch wasn't occupying the chair next to the drunken Head peacekeeper.

"Yes?" slurred the peacekeeper from his position on the ground. "It better be important, my drinking is a necessary part of my life."

"There has been a collapse in the mines and as head peacekeeper, you have to sort it out."

"Urgh, that would mean that I would have to get off the ground, it is surprisingly comfy. You should join me."

"Get up! There are people dying and you can't be bothered getting your drunk ass of the ground."

"Fine. I'm going, no need to yell," he mumbled.

"I heard that." Timothy ground out. Cray sloppily got off the ground and grimaced as his back cracked.

_***Meanwhile***_

"EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" Yelled Darius. All the heads in the room turned to face him. Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and a ping pong ball clattered along the wooden floor as it stopped bouncing.

"There has been a collapse in the mines. We need about 10 of you to go straight into the mines and get to work. It will be dangerous, but this is what we were trained for. We chose to do this so don't take this task lightly." Immediately, the ten most experienced peacekeeper stood up and got ready for the rescue mission.

"We also need 5 more of you to go get all the healers. We need all the help we can get." Darius finished his speech and walked out of the room as the others were deciding who should fetch the healers. Darius was intending to contact the Capitol and the neighbouring districts to see if they could get some help. The though flashed through his mind that perhaps this was just a small collapse but little did he know that his actions during this period of time would soon earn him the title of head peacekeeper sooner than he imagined.

_***In the mines***_

There was a mixture between confusion and panic. The word of a mine collapse had spread like wild fire. Unfortunately, only one miner realised the true danger of a mine collapse. Even a small collapse can result in an explosion. These can be delayed – the worst sort. When a delayed explosion occurs, everyone thinks that it is safe and that there were no immediate dangers. However this can cause their death as they are not expecting the mine to explode. The reason is hidden in the earth which is also why not many people from district 12 know of this; their education is very limited.

Of course Dan Hawthorne knew of these dangers and immediately set to work on evacuating as many people from the mine as possible. This would save many lives, but unfortunately, not his own.

_***Back with Timothy***_

He had reached the Apothecary that his wife worked at. Hestasia usually worked at the front desk in the shop so you can imagine his surprise when he saw the shop empty. He then looked down the street and noticed that the other healers store also seemed to be closed. It then clicked in his brain that the peacekeepers must have already collected the healers and taken them to the site to help the wounded.

He turned and walked down the street towards the mines when there earth shook violently and dirt flew around in an eerie sort of way. A hundred meters or so ahead of him, a huge cylinder of rubble and dust rose into the air. That was when he realised what had happened, what he had done. By then, it was too late– his wife was already gone. As unbearable pain ripped through his heart, he vowed to make sure that he would never have a loved one be ripped away from him like that ever again.

END CHAPTER 1 :)

For those who couldn't work that out, Katniss and Prim's mum just died instead of their father… Ohhhh trippy! What will happen to Timothy? How will this effect Katniss and Prim and what does the recent victor, Haymitch Abernathy have to do with this?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been two years since the accident. Though the Everdeen family had been able to resume their life, there seemed to be a hole in the family which just couldn't be repaired. Every day Timothy would have to go to work and the two Everdeen girls would go hunting with Gale, a 10 year old boy from the Seam. Gale and Katniss had met at the medal of honour ceremony. Gale's deceased father had got a medal for helping to save so many lives by evacuating the mines. Tragically, he died in the explosion while trying to save some of the injured. Katniss had also been there as both her parents received medals for their heroic actions which were the difference between life and death for many. The awards had been handed out by the new head peacekeeper, Darius - Cray had been caught in the blast.

Neither Katniss nor Gale realised back then how important both of them would be to each other in the rest of their tough childhoods. However Gale did pick up an annoying habit of calling her Catnip that day.

"You can take this wood, Katniss" said Haymitch while handing over several long thin branches and a few larger ones. She realised immediately that they were going to do some crafting today. Ever since her mother died two years ago, her father and an old friend of his had been teaching them several survival skills. Most days they would go into the woods and hunt so that they can have fresh food. They would also meet Gale in the woods.

Gale and Katniss were hunting partners. Ever since they had been taught how to hunt with a bow and arrow, they have gone into the woods alone to hunt and provide for both their families. Those days, Haymitch would stay with Prim as she would always cry when some game was shot and beg them to let it go again. None of the children realised that the reason that they were being taught all of this was so that they would be able to survive the Hunger Games like Uncle Haymitch did.

"What are we crafting today?" Piped Prim.

"Some spears and a bow and arrow. I'll also teach you how to throw spears. They are very handy and slightly easier to use than the bow and arrow" said Haymitch. They took the back passage to the woods. After all, everyone in Panem is under the impression that Haymitch is a drunk and spends all his time locked up in his house. It wouldn't be good right now if everyone learnt that he had been faking for 2 whole years. Every year he has to leave for a month to mentor the tributes for district 12. Gale and Katniss would struggle to feed their families in this part of the year. One year ago they had been close to starving. It was lucky that they had help from a nice young boy.

_Flashback…_

_It was pouring as Katniss was walking back from the woods. She had tried to hunt by herself but she had hardly any luck. When she was with her dad, he was able to follow the footprints of animals and he knew exactly how far away the game was, but without her dad she didn't really know what she was looking for. She had managed to get a squirrel that had been curious as to what she was and came stupidly close to her. It didn't even hear the sound of the arrow being released before it hit it in the neck._

_She was walking past the butcher. She peered in the bin like she had been doing to all the other shops. But like all the other bins in the street so far, it was completely empty. As she went up to the bin of the baker, she heard a woman's scream._

"_Get away from that bin! I've already had some seam rats pawing through the trash! I don't need you dirtying it even more. Go back!" The baker's wife yelled._

_The words stung Katniss more than she was willing to admit. They just didn't know what she was going through. She didn't notice a young boy stick his head out of the door curiously until his mother began to yell at him too. The rain continued pour as Katniss slumped to the ground. She didn't feel like getting up and going home. She didn't feel as if she could bare Prim sad face when she realised that, once again, they would be going to bed hungry. _

_Her father had hardly been around because ever since the mine explosion, the mine work had become more dangerous and he was getting payed less for it. They were still trying to restore the mines to how they were. They hadn't been getting any coal yet and they wouldn't until the mine was safe again… or as safe as it will get thought Katniss bitterly. There was a bang as the Bakery door was thrown open and the woman was yelling again. She drowned the words out but she couldn't help feel that she was coming out to chase her away with a wooden spoon in her hand. It wasn't though. It was the young boy she had seen earlier. He was holding two loaves of burnt bread._

"_Give them to the pigs! No one will buy burnt bread you useless child!" The witch yelled. There was a thump noise. She had hit the boy on the head with a rolling pin. She turned back and stormed in the door. The boy was in her year at school. She recognised him from her classes. A Mellark. He had to be a Mellark as that was the name of the bakery. His name…. what was his name? Pita or something like that. No. Peeta. That was it. Peeta Mellark._

_Peeta turned to face the pigs and broke off the burnt parts of the bread. He then tossed the rest of the bread towards her. Without even looking at her, he walked back inside. She quickly rushed out and grabbed the bread. It was still hot and it burnt her fingers but she didn't care. Why had this boy given her bread? Did it mean something or did he just see that she was starving?_

_End flashback…_

They could see the break in the electrical fence. Prim and Katniss were able to slide under the fence without touching it but the power had to be off for Haymitch to slide though. Luckily the tell-tale buzz was not there and the fence was as silent as a stone. They slid under and began their trek towards the rock that Katniss and Gale meet at. Along the way, Katniss picked up her bow and arrow that her father had made her.

"Hey Catnip" came Gale's voice. She jumped and cursed how he could walk so quietly.

"Damn you, Gale" she whisper-shouted. "Don't creep up on me. I nearly shot you."

"Sure, sure. You wouldn't shoot me" said Gale. Katniss raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we would all be very, very sad if Spitfire shot you." Haymitch said in a faux sad voice.

"Hey, don't be nasty" reprimed Katniss.

"You're telling me not to be 'nasty'? You were the one that nearly shot him"

"Yeah, sorry Gale. I didn't mean to be nasty" said Katniss.

Haymitch mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'what sort of word is 'nasty'?'

"Come on, we need to do some crafting" said Haymitch. He took one in the long this sticks and a sharp looking rock from the round. He then explained the basics of crafting spears. What to do and what not to do. He also showed then how to attach sharp rocks heads on the spears. He told them that it was not necessary to attach the spear head in the shaft was sharp enough. When they had all crafted several spears each, he showed them how to throw them. All the kids were always in awe of how well Haymitch could use weapons. He wasn't perfect, but he was very talented at all of the weapons he had ever shown them how to use.

Each of them carved a target in a tree to use and then started to throw the spears at targets. Haymitch spent an hour correcting their technique and helping them with their accuracy. Like usual, Gale and Katniss were better than Prim. Prim lacked the strength to get the spears to sink into the target and had trouble getting her small body to throw a long stick like a spear. Haymitch always liked them to get experience at using the weapons so they all began to stalk through the woods, deathly quiet. Their shooting with the spears was clumsy but with practice they would improve. Each time some game was shot, Prim would go into a small panic attack. You could see her breathing rate rapidly increase and her complexion go pale.

After a while Haymitch took Prim away and they went to collect some plants. They all hoped that Prim would go out of the stage where she cries for every animal that is killed but they all knew that that probably wouldn't happen. Prim was like her mother - it was unlikely that she would grow out of it. They would just need to slowly allow her to get used to the sight of dying animals.

The sun was right above them and beaming down on them making the air of the woods very thick. On Saturdays they would usually hunt until midday. Although they had no precise way of telling the time, they have become quite accustomed and adept at telling the time by its position in the sky. It was currently a little past midday – about the time that they would usually be seen at the hob.

"Catnip," Gale whispered "we should go to the hob now." The sudden noise sent birds flying in all directions.

"Yeah, I also need to get some eggs and Prim would like some more straw for Lady." Katniss agreed. Some of the Seam villagers must be very jealous of the things that Katniss and Gale bring back home. Most of them struggle to get even the most basic food yet we come home with luxuries like cookies sometimes. Today though, they have minimum food as they were crafting and practicing new weapons. All of the weapons they own must stay in the woods at all times. The only reason that they don't get whipped on a daily basis is because all the peacekeepers are just as hungry for fresh meat as they are.

They walk towards the hob, chatting aimlessly about the spears that they crafted. They always have to be careful with what they talk about in public, especially because their conversations generally lead to food shortages and the Hunger Games. We arrive at our houses and just as Katniss turn to leave Gale embraces her. He realises a split second later what he did, and lets go embarrassedly. As he turns down the next street Katniss looks at his retreating figure sadly. They were both deprived of a parent when they were younger but Gale seemed to take longer to let himself care about others. Hopefully Katniss will be able to help him to learn to love again.

**Ohhhh. Sorry, I realise every now and then that they do not act their age at all. I mean they would act older than they are supposed to because they lost a parent so they have to mature faster than they should but seriously… they are much more mature than they should be. I hope that my reasons for their actions were accurate enough. I do spend a lot of time thinking about how they should react. **


	3. Chapter 3

**To anyone that has been waiting for me to post this chapter, I could give a thousand excuses for why I haven't posted a chapter in two weeks but I won't deflect the blame when it was me being lazy. Sorry.**

Chapter 3

_Four years later…_

Many things had changed in the Everdeen household. Katniss now had a frightening temper. You would always have to make sure that you were never on the receiving end of her anger. She was like fragile glass that broke when touched in the wrong place. If you did, you had to make sure that there were no loose objects around that she could use to terrorise you with (not physically, of course). Prim had changed too. Every day that passed she became more like her mother in appearance as well as mannerisms. She hadn't completely out grown her distaste for killing animals but she now sometimes accompanied Katniss and Gale hunting although she refused to skin the animals.

Gale had also changed dramatically. Due to the many hours that they spent in the woods, Gale had become well built. You could tell by walking through the school that he was desired by many of the girls in the school. You could hear the gossip trailing the pair of them wherever they went. Many of the older folk at the hob had often said that if anyone deserved to have Gale as a husband – it was Katniss Everdeen, who was by far the most worthy girl in the district. She wasn't the most attractive girl in the school but she had this aura around her that seemed to inspire hope in even the most empty-hearted people.

_Thump… _Another knife hit the board. If anyone was standing behind the target board they would been skewered by the throwing knife. There were two more thumps as Gale and Prim's knives hit their target. Neither of the latter throws were as accurate as the former. Haymitch clapped mockingly.

"Looks like spitfire has finally learnt to aim" He immediately regretted his words as Katniss spun around and threw the knife in her hand at him. It flew millimetres away from his face.

"Care to repeat that again?" asked Katniss menacingly, holding a very deadly looking knife in her hand.

"Your knife throwing skills are superb, sweetheart." He said. He only calls her sweetheart when she is angry.

"Come on Catnip, don't kill Haymitch. He is our trainer" said Gale. Katniss and Gale figured out that they were being trained a few years ago. Haymitch had mentioned that Timothy had requested that they have some training on how to get water. After Haymitch spilled the beans, all three kids demanded to be told what was going on. They were angry but quickly forgave them both when Haymitch told them that he got them some hot chocolate – a delicacy that can only be found in the Capitol.

"Fine, I'll let you live today, but next time…" she let her threat hang. All of them know that she is perfectly capable of killing Haymitch, but she wouldn't because it would be almost like killing her father… unthinkable. Katniss limped over to the bench where her bow and arrow was kept. She had accidentally dropped her knife on her foot the day before. She was putting her rabbit on her belt when she cut her arm in the rabbit's sharp claws. She was so surprised that she dropped the knife and didn't have enough time to move away before it landed on her foot. She had cursed herself several times at her amateur mistake. It was Prim's first real test of her healing abilities.

"Come Catnip, it's reaping day" said Gale. It was her first reaping day today. "Don't worry; it's your first year so they won't pick you." Time seemed to go in fast forwards. The next thing that she knew she and Gale were being pulled apart and put in their separate age groups. She was thinking about Gale with his 15 slips. It was unlikely that he would get drawn but not entirely impossible. But she was also thinking of herself. She had 2 slips. Her father had insisted that she didn't take tesserae for him, just one for her and one for Prim.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome. How lovely it is to be here on this beautiful day" Katniss was reminded strongly of a squealing piglet. Effie began to blabber on endlessly about the treaty of treason and many other Hunger Games things that had been brainwashed into her.

"Now the time has come to select one courageous young man and woman for the honour of representing district 12 in the 70th annual Hunger Games. Ladies first" chirped Effie. All Katniss could think was 'that's not me. It's not going to be me. It's not me. Not me. It's not going to be me.'

"Katniss Everdeen"

'It is me.'

Shock was written all over everybody's faces – not just Katniss'. Everyone in the District 12 knows Katniss Everdeen; the hunter with a fiery temper. A scream echoed in the background. Prim had begun screaming for her older sister and running towards her.

"No Prim! Go find Dad! No Prim. Let go" said Katniss desperately. Everyone could only watch in sadness as both sisters were being pulled apart by the Hunger Games. Gale walked over to the pair of them and pulled Prim over his shoulder. Prim began to scream louder and whack her small fists against his head. Katniss put on her determined face and steeled herself as she walked up the stairs and onto the platform. It was then that she realised Effie Trinket had been 'commentating' the entire time.

"Come on up" she said "don't be shy." Katniss felt like punching her in the face but decided against it as showing her fighting skills would not be beneficial to her.

"Let's give a round of applause to Katniss Everdeen; the female tribute" said Effie. No one clapped. Everyone just stared at the girl on the stage then at Gale – the two teenagers that had been forcefully ripped apart. No one felt like applauding the action that had done this. So instead, they gave them the three fingered salute. It meant thanks, it meant admiration. It meant goodbye to someone you love. Katniss was close to crying and everyone knew it. Haymitch also noticed her discomfort and so he took the liberty of distracting everybody. He stumbled forward in a faux drunken fashion. He slung an arm over Katniss' shoulder.

"Look at this one! I like her. She has lots of…" He trailed off, thinking for a word that would be perfect to describe her "Spunk!" He yells triumphantly. Haymitch could see Timothy grinning in the crowd and he knew he had done his job. "More than you!" he added for extra effect while directing it at one of the cameras perched on the roof of the peacekeepers headquarters over to the left. "More than…" Haymitch tumbled off the stage and on to the concrete below. Katniss barely supressed a wince as she heard him crash onto the ground. It was a 2 metre drop.

"Well, this has been an exciting day!" said Effie who was desperately trying to get the attention back to the reaping. She knew that right now district 12 was the laughing stock of Panem and she didn't want to be associated with that. The population of district 12 also seemed to realise this but they had the opposite attitude to Effie; they didn't seem to care. In fact, they seemed to like it.

"Now for the boys!" said Effie. There was a noticeable change in her attitude. She briskly walked over to the bowl filled with names of the male potential participants of the Hunger Games. Katniss didn't have any time to wish Gale good luck before Effie was calling out the name.

"Leef Mowet" A lanky dark-skinned boy 16 year old boy hopped out of the crowd. He gave off a strong aura of arrogance. He was obviously trying to intimidate Katniss by flexing his almost non-existent muscles. He was either an idiot or just forgot that Katniss was a hunter.

Effie then led them to the justice building where they were separated by the peacekeepers and put into different rooms. They got 10 minutes for friends and family to say their goodbyes.

Almost as soon as the door closed Prim and Timothy walked into Katniss' room.

"Katniss" said Prim as she raced into Katniss' embrace. She started sobbing into her older sister shirt.

"Katniss listen to me" said her dad sternly. "You need to get a bow. I don't care how you get it. If you can't find one then you need to make one. You know how to make a bow and you know how to win this thing. Show them all up but be mysterious. Don't tell anyone what you are made of. Don't ally yourself with someone that you don't think you can trust."

"You mean Leef?" smirked Katniss. Timothy allowed himself a grin.

"Stay alive" he whispered and joined the hug.

"Stay safe" said Prim tearfully.

"I will" she said strongly.

"You have 1 minute left" said a masked peacekeeper.

"No, Katniss. You can't leave me!" said Prim. The three of them just sat in silence, savouring what could be the last minute they ever spend together. The only noise that broke through the silence was Prim's sobbing. The door opened again and a different peacekeeper walked in.

"Time's up" he said almost regretfully. For the second time that day, Prim was torn from her embrace and taken away from her.

"Good luck, Katniss" her father. He seemed confident in Katniss' abilities but he didn't want to be wrong in his judgement and never be able to give his oldest daughter a proper goodbye. He kissed her forehead and carried Prim out of the room who was curled in a ball, not willing to believe that Katniss was being taken away. The door closed again and everything went silent. Katniss considered trying to escape but she didn't think that anything good would come from that.

Then Gale walked in. There had never been anything between them despite the fact that she had a _huge_ crush on him for a year. He had never seen her staring at him in the woods, but Katniss was painfully aware of it. She was more than happy to sink into his embrace.

"Catnip" he seemed to be about to say something more but the words seemed to catch in his throat. "You can win. You have to win. I don't think I would be able to you know, stay here and keep hunting by myself. I don't think I would be able to do it all by myself. I never told you before… I wish I had, Catnip but I love you" he looked down suddenly interested in his shoes. Katniss could see red pooling around his cheeks. She couldn't reply though, the words were stuck in her throat. She never expected that Gale liked her back. Gale looked up to see why she hadn't said anything.

"Look, I…" he didn't get to say anything else as Katniss kissed him. He was surprised and took a second to react before he kissed her back fiercely. When they pulled back they were both smiling.

"I won't forget you" Gale whispered.

"I won't die" said Katniss defiantly. The door opened at they both looked at the doorway expectantly.

"1 minute left" said the peacekeeper.

"Catnip, you should try to get some knives. You can't make them as well as you can make a bow or spears. You've had more practice at making them" he said hurriedly.

"What if there aren't any knives?" Katniss asked.

"There are always knives, they are the easiest weapon to use" he said. "But try and avoid the bloodbath we have practiced running and climbing use that to you advantage. Don't be intimidated by anyone, especially the careers. There will be people that are 18 years old, you are more talented than them – don't forget that."

"I won't, Gale."

"You can do this Catnip. I'm expecting to see you home in a month" said Gale. The door swung open again. It was the peacekeeper telling them that their time was up. Gale lent in and kissed her again one last time before he has jerked out of her arms.

"Don't let them starve!" yelled Katniss, panicking.

"You know I won't. You can do this. Don't forget I love you." The door slammed shut. 'He loves me' thought Katniss happily 'I won't let them down. They have worked so hard for me to have the best chance at coming back out. I can't let their efforts go to waste.' Since Haymitch wasn't allowed in, Katniss thought that there would be no one else that would come in but she was proven wrong as the door opened and Madge walked in. Madge was the Major's daughter and though they weren't what Katniss would call friends, they did sit together all the time though, as neither of them had any friend groups that they were part of. Madge walked with a sort of urgency.

"Katniss, I need to give this to you" she said quickly. She fumbled with the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a pin. Katniss didn't need to look closely at the pin in her hand to recognise it as a mockingjay. Her father had taught her all about mockingjays. They are able to repeat singing made by humans as they are descended from the genetically engineered Jabberjays and the local mocking birds.

"It was my aunts" said Madge sadly. "She wore it when she was in the Hunger Games." Katniss didn't need to be told that Madge's aunt was killed in the games. Only 2 people from district 12 have survived the Hunger Games and both were male.

"I want you to wear it Katniss. Be proud, you can win this."

"Thank you" whispered Katniss. As she watched Madge's retreating back she realised that perhaps they were friends all along. Katniss was once again proved wrong about her guess that there would be no one else visiting her as once again the wooden doors were opened to reveal very unexpected guests. Mr Mellark and Peeta Mellark walked. Katniss wondered why Mr Mellark came as he never spoke much. As she guessed, Peeta was the one that spoke first.

"You're probably wondering why we are here" he said. At Katniss' nod he continued. "We wanted to say that we will help your family and the little girl…"

"Prim" cut in Katniss.

"Prim" he corrected. "We will make sure she eats. Don't panic or lose you head. Everyone in the district thinks you can win this thing, even my mother." He grins slightly when he sees Katniss' eyebrows shoot up. Katniss' surprise increases when Mr Mellark speaks.

"We also brought you this." He hands her a bag of cookies. She takes them and thanks them profusely.

"You don't realise how much this means to me" she said gratefully as they walk out the door. The door closes and once again the room is bathed in silence. She never realised that this many people cared about her. She was given two gifts: cookies and a handcrafted gold pin. 'Perhaps I should get reaped more often' she thought with a grin.

**A/N I have started writing two more fics. What do you think I should post next… Harry Potter or Divergent or do you think I should keep writing this story? See ya later!**

**SarahMellark15 **


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